Meta Expands Muse With New AI Agent Features

Meta is moving quickly to turn its new AI agent, Muse, into a much bigger part of users’ everyday digital lives.

Just weeks after launching the personal AI agent in early September, Meta used its annual Connect event in Menlo Park on Wednesday to unveil a long list of new features and integrations. The announcements underline how seriously the company is taking Muse as its major consumer AI project.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg opened the keynote by putting Muse at the center of the company’s AI strategy. According to Zuckerberg, the physical avatar associated with Muse is called Jolly.

Muse is designed to handle everyday digital tasks by connecting with services such as email and calendars. The agent can work across a user’s devices and digital accounts and is powered by Muse Spark, Meta’s multimodal AI model designed for agent-based tasks.

Meta has positioned Muse as a more accessible AI assistant that can help people automate routine work. The company’s long-term vision goes much further.

“The centerpiece of our vision for what we’re building is Muse,” Zuckerberg said during the keynote. He added that he expects Muse to eventually become a personal superintelligence used by billions of people to achieve their goals and improve their lives.

Meta also sees a business opportunity in the system. Zuckerberg said Muse will initially be free for a large number of tokens, with the company eventually expecting to earn money by taking a small fee from transactions.

Muse Gets a Face and a Voice

One of the more unusual updates is the addition of personalized digital avatars.

Meta is developing Muse Realtime Avatar, a new AI model that will allow users to create a distinct digital avatar for their personal agent. Users will eventually be able to have real-time video conversations with the avatar, ask questions and give it tasks.

The feature gives Muse something it previously lacked: a visible identity. Instead of interacting with a faceless AI, users will be able to communicate with an agent that has a face, body and voice.

The feature also adds another layer to Meta’s broader vision around digital avatars and virtual experiences.

Muse Is Coming to Meta’s Smart Glasses

Muse will also be integrated into Meta’s smart glasses.

Once available, users will be able to communicate with the agent through their glasses using a wake word. Muse could help guide someone through a personalized workout, record meals, book appointments or assist with purchasing products they see while wearing the glasses.

Meta says Muse can work in the background and return to the user once a task has been completed.

The company expects the glasses integration to launch sometime in the coming months, although it has not announced a specific release date.

Muse Will Be Able to Control a Mac

Meta is also expanding Muse into desktop computing.

The company is bringing Muse computer-use capabilities to Mac, allowing users to delegate tasks to the AI agent. Similar to computer-use features from other AI companies, Muse will be able to interact with applications running on a user’s desktop.

Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang said users could eventually use Muse to help operate a small business or complete other work while they are away from their computers.

The goal is to let users assign multiple jobs to Muse and allow the agent to continue working on them in the background.

Muse Is Getting Its Own Email Address

Another upcoming feature will give Muse its own email address.

Because the agent is expected to operate in the background, Meta believes having a dedicated email account will make it easier for Muse to manage tasks and communications.

Users will also be able to add Muse to email conversations or forward messages to the agent so it can handle tasks on their behalf.

Meta says the feature is coming soon, although it has not provided a specific launch date.

More Shopping and App Integrations

Shopping is another major part of Meta’s plans for Muse.

The company has partnered with platforms including Stripe and Shopify. Wang said Muse can access Shopify’s entire product catalog and use Lync and Shop Pay to purchase products online. Meta has also expanded support for payments through PayPal.

Meta announced additional partnerships with major retailers, including Best Buy, Gap, Sephora, Walmart and Wayfair.

Muse will also connect with retail applications as well as Expedia, with Instacart support coming soon. Other integrations announced by Meta include GitHub, Granola and Notion.

Meta is also opening Muse to smaller businesses and developers. The company recently launched a platform that allows developers to create their own connectors for Muse.

According to Wang, Meta received more than 1,500 applications within less than a week.

He described the response as a potential generational opportunity for developers to build on a new platform as it grows.

With avatars, smart glasses, computer control, email, shopping and third-party integrations all being added, Meta is rapidly expanding Muse beyond a traditional chatbot. The company’s latest updates suggest it wants the agent to become an always-available digital assistant capable of handling tasks across the services people already use every day.

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